Many types of locking systems are known for articles of furniture having one or more drawers, including desks, credenzas, file cabinets, and the like. Many of these articles are designed wherein drawers are configured in a stacked relationship. Often it is desirable to lock each of the drawers with a single locking system that is operable from a single location. The most common locking scheme is known as a “gang lock” and includes an elongated metal bar or rod that is mounted to an inside wall of the article of furniture for sliding, vertical movement between locked and unlocked positions. The bar or rod typically includes multiple locking or arresting pins that engage catches mounted on the individual drawers when the drawers are in the closed position and the bar or rod is in the locked position. When the bar or rod is in the unlocked position, the arresting pins are disengaged from the drawer catches, thereby permitting the drawers to be opened.
The vertical movement of the locking bar or rod have, in the past, been actuated by mechanical means. Mechanical actuators typically include a linkage or cable system that, when manually actuated, move the locking bar or rod between locked and unlocked positions. The actuator is often operated manually using a mechanical keyed locking mechanism. While such purely mechanical locking systems are effective in securely locking multiple drawers, they require a mechanical key which may be lost or misplaced. Also, where multiple cabinets or desks, for example, are used in a single location, multiple keys are required or else each cabinet or desk must be similarly keyed at considerable expense. Further, such systems cannot be remotely operated from one or more locations or automatically lock at a prescribed time, such as after hours.
More recently, some electronic keyless systems have been introduced which require no mechanical keys. Some of these systems employ an electric motor and cam configuration to actuate the vertical motion of a locking bar or rod. However, these systems are not compatible with the mechanical gang lock described herein above and involve design changes in conventional cabinet drawer construction.
Most of the electronic locking systems heretofore known also require considerable space for installation. This results in special additional compartments that must be constructed within the article of furniture for placement of the locking system.